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"Crime groups are using unstable and insecure parts of the country to do business, and without addressing lawlessness these areas will continue to be a safe haven for those who profit from the drug trade," he added.

The UN agency said that the decline in opium cultivation needed to be understood in the context of the "dramatically changing" regional drug market, which is shifting to synthetic drugs, especially methamphetamine.

The International Crisis Group said in a report this week that Myanmar had become one of the biggest producers of crystal methamphetamine, which is much more lucrative than heroin or amphetamine, drugs that have been produced for decades in the conflict-ridden northern region of the country.

--IANS

ksk/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)